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Unlike the pro-Sarah Palin sign-wavers at the Alaska governor-turned-Republican vice-presidential candidate's appearance today at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, those protesting her presence weren't jazzed by her meteoric rise to political stardom. Indeed, their signs advertised a wide array of gripes. One belittled her attack on Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's background working with underprivileged sorts in Chicago with a placard that read, "Jesus Was a Community Organizer." Another took a shot at her claim that Alaska's proximity to Russia gives her foreign-policy experience with the bizarre slogan, "Putin Ain't No Moose." Later, inside the main Fairgrounds building, several naysayers who'd managed to worm their way in tried to interrupt Palin's remarks with vocal eruptions of their own. When Palin said there were several reasons for the current financial crisis, a woman yelled, "Because of Bush!" In an instant, she was surrounded by members of the security staff, but they weren't needed. Instead, Palin supporters drowned out the woman with chants of "USA! USA! USA!" The woman didn't give up easily, yelping, "Unqualified!" on several occasions. Yet the "USA!" crowd put her in her place with great delight. They seemed to have every bit as much fun silencing this opponent as did those who were actually able to hear everything Palin said. -- Michael Roberts

Michael Roberts has written for Westword since October 1990, serving stints as music editor and media columnist. He currently covers everything from breaking news and politics to sports and stories that defy categorization.